How an Executive Saved a $380k Sale and $87k Commission (After Losing It)
Have you ever lost a big revenue-generating sales deal, and the large commission check that went along with it?
Find out exactly how we helped this B2B Sales Executive salvage a $380,000 deal, and an $87,000 commission, all by sending $133 in roses from 1800Flowers.
Curious? Let’s get “Inside”…
Greetings to you fellow business professionals. My name is Marty Stewart, Chief Strategy and Marketing Officer (CSO, CMO) and Host of Inside Sales TV.
We’ve all been there, right?
Anyone that’s in any kind of small business or corporate world where you produce revenue for your company. Whether you are the CEO, President, Executive, are in Sales, or Business Development, we’ve all come close to, or even completely lost sales in our careers.
Even worse, big-ticket or enterprise level sales.
That is exactly what happened with one of our Sales Executive clients.
In this “Inside Sales” episode, you will learn:
- The quick backstory of how my client closed a deal, only to lose it 72 hours later.
- The step-by-step messaging and actions taken to revive and save that deal.
- The exact response the CEO had to receiving two-dozen roses.
- 5 key takeaways you can learn from this, to try and save any lost sales deal.
The Sales Executive Backstory
Let me give you the quick back story, and then the exact strategic steps we took to help save this lost deal.
Our client had closed a $380k deal on a Friday afternoon, it was a ‘done’ deal. He literally told me how over the weekend he started looking at what he was going to purchase with his $87k commission.
Have you ever done that?
Mentally pre-spent your sales commission check before you actually got it in-hand?
The following Monday morning, my client called me frantically and in complete shock about how he just LOST the $380k sale AND the $87,000 commission!
He literally sounded like a crazy schizophrenic person.
This was a Wolf of Wall Street type Sales Executive. A power-house sales closer and super professional seasoned pro on the phone.
In all my years working with this client, I had never heard him sound like this before.
After he finally calmed down enough, he told me exactly what happened.
My Outsider-Looking-in Take on the Situation:
- This was an early Monday morning and he’s dealing with the CEO of a larger company.
- Obviously CEO’s of any company, especially publicly-traded companies, have a lot on their plate at any given time.
- It seemed to me that something must have happened that early morning that either wasn’t favorable to the CEO personally, or to the company.
- Maybe their stock price or market cap just took a huge hit?
- I figured my client was just at the wrong end of what had just happened.
- The CEO blew up at him, and canceled the deal.
I told my client to give me about an hour to come up with a strategic plan to try and salvage this deal. Because at this point, anything was worth trying to salvage the deal.
This company was a longtime client that had done a lot of business with my client. So something just was not right.
I came up with a strategic 3-Step Plan that was “copy and paste” to make it look like these email messages came directly from my client himself.
Another crucial part of the plan was sending the CEO two-dozen roses that same day.
My client had so much push back on this sending flowers part.
My Client Said:
“I can’t send red roses to a CEO of a company! That’s just freaking weird!
Let me just send the emails you suggested.
But, I’m not going to send roses to the CEO. He is going to think I am in love with him or something!?!
It’s just too weird. I can’t do that part.”
My Response Was:
“You just lost a $380k deal and an $87k commission. There is no further loss at this point.
Hear me out.
This is NOT the ABC reality TV Shows The Bachelor or The Bachelorette, where they say ‘Will you accept this rose’ garbage.
We’re not going to send red roses because maybe that part would be taken as being weird. We’re going to send yellow roses because that matches their company logo.
The message I came up with for the card even jokes about the color of the roses matching their logo, so they will not think anything weird.
I also found out there is same-day delivery in the city where the client’s corporate office is.
The flowers can be ordered through 1800Flowers.com, and they can be delivered this afternoon in just a few hours from now.
The email messages alone may not have the full impact.
The roses are a physical, tangible, and an in-hand diffuser to the whole situation.
Everyone in their C-Suite office will be talking about this. They will be wondering who sent the CEO flowers.
It’s $133 in roses to have a shot at saving a $380,000 sale and an $87,000 commission. The best hail mary investment you could make, and I am paying for them anyways! I just want to see if this really works.
TRUST ME!!!!
You have nothing to lose.
All you have to do is say ‘yes’ and I will take it from here.”
My Client Was So Reluctant. But Then, He Finally Said:
“You’re right. I’m not seeing the situation clearly.
I trust your call on this. Let me just follow exactly what you’re advising me to do.
I’ll send the two email messages. And yes, go ahead and send the flowers to the CEO in my name this afternoon. You have my permission.”
Now, You’re Probably Wondering ‘Why’ I Pushing the Client so Hard to Do All of This?
1. Nothing to Lose
He had absolutely nothing to lose at this point. The deal was already lost. The only thing he could do now was to try and save the deal, and more importantly, save his $87,000 commission.
2. $8,700 in Extra Commission
This client of mine was a monthly retainer + % client. This meant that every deal he was involved in, that my Team and I helped with, we actually earned an additional percent of every closed deal.
So, on my end, I stood to lose $8,700, which represented 10% of my clients $87,000 commission.
Step-By-Step Actions
Here is the step-by-step strategic messaging sequence that helped save the deal.
To see the complete set of email messages and 1800Flowers.com receipts, start watching at the 6:50 mark of the video above, or view it on the Inside Sales TV YouTube Channel.
A Tiny $133.26 Investment in Two-Dozen Roses from 1800Flowers.com SAVED an $87,000 Sales Commission
Here’s the actual 1800Flowers.com email receipt close up. Certain information is redacted for privacy’s sake. You’ll see that I sent two-dozen yellow roses in the client’s name, along with the little message that got printed on a card. Total investment of only $133.26. Image Credit: Marty Stewart / 1800Flowers.com.
Stressful Waiting Game Over the Following 48 Hours
After these sending these emails and confirming the roses were delivered, my client didn’t hear anything from the CEO on Monday.
Tuesday morning he’s calling me worried that this deal is really lost.
I advised him to sit tight, and wait.
On Tuesday evening, he calls me and said the CEO sent him an email about having a call Wednesday morning.
He said the email reply was one sentence, “Let’s talk Wednesday morning.”
The Chief Executive Officer’s (CEO’s) Response to Getting Two-Dozen Roses
Later Wednesday morning, my client calls me and is screaming in the phone:
“It worked, it worked!!!!!!!
I can’t believe it, it really worked!!!!!”
My client said they picked up right where they left off. There was no mention of the blow-up on Monday morning. It was like it never happened.
The deal was back on and fully engaged.
At the very end of the call, the CEO says to my client:
“By the way, thanks for the flowers…”
He said they had a little laugh over it, and the deal was saved!
5 Key Takeaways You Can Use to Save Any Lost Sales Deals
There are five key take-aways from this, and how you can apply them to your current or future situations where you may be on the edge of losing a valuable sale and commission.
1. Take Your Ego Out of the Equation.
A past quote I heard from a brilliant Speaker Trainer by the name of Joel Bauer. He says:
“Your ego is not your amigo.”
Meaning your ego is not your friend in situations like this. Set your ego aside. It’s not about you, it’s about your customer or client.
2. Acknowledge Your Mistake.
Even if you feel you did not make a mistake, you need to apologize. Be humble. Apologize sincerely. Make it all about your customer / client, not about you.
3. Remind Them What You Have Done for Them Lately.
Customers / clients are always thinking:
“What have you done for me lately.”
Share with them what successes you have brought to the table, or have done for them in the past. It’s key to remind them of past work, as they often forget in the present moment.
Restate what you will be doing for them now, and what key benefits they will be losing by not moving forward.
4. Three or More Touches are Better Than One.
Create a strategic multi-touch messaging approach.
Never just do one touch. It may not have the impact.
Even better is adding in a touch that is face-to-face, either in person or over a Zoom video call.
5. Send Them Roses or Premium Flowers
Finally, and this is key and crucial, send your customer / client roses from 1800Flowers.com.
I am not joking. I can’t explain the power this has. It just works. It captures their attention and creates a buzz.
It puts you top-of-mind in their eyes, and makes you even more memorable.
Have You Ever Lost a High-Ticket / Big-Ticket / Enterprise Sales Deal?
What about you? Have you lost a big-ticket sale or enterprise-level deal in the past?
Let me know about one of your lost sales deals, and if you were able to save it or not. Maybe you have a current deal you are trying to save now?
Share your story with me below, or in the YouTube video comments, and my Team and I will do our best to offer some creative solutions to help you save that deal.
For those that want more in-depth strategic help, schedule a confidential strategy call with us.
